roadrunner

Gee Fellas, It's been a while since I posted anything, but I have a little over 85,000 miles on my '99 Gs400 and I'm thinking about making inqueries on where to find a competent service place, not necessarily the dealer to have timming belt & water pump replaced. I live in Montgomery County, Maryland in Gaithersburg about 28 miles NW of DC. Also any ideas or ballparks on costs? I will call dealer just for comparison sake or maybe even buy parts to see if that will make a difference. Thanks, roadrunner

do you have your owner's manual? the service schedule should say what it is... if i recall correctly (mine is in the car... i'm at work), i think it's 6-7 years max if you don't reach the prescribed mileage first, so yes i think you're due. the water pump, tensioner, and some of the front seals should be done as well while the belt is off. i know a lot of people skip it because of cost, but i decided upon peace of mind instead rather than hoping every day it will hold together. again, i went to a private mechanic (ex-toyota) to do my belt. i've forgotten the price but it came out to $400 less than what the dealership asked for. it was hard for me to find a private mechanic to do it because of the vvti... if you don't know how to set/reset the cam timing, the engine will eat all it's valves because it's an interference design :o

I'm a little over 80,000 on my '99 GS400. Is it near the time to change the timing belt? I've seen do-it-yourself postings, but outside of that and the dealership which I believe will be $$$$, does anybody have a ball park figure on cost? I understand it is suggested to change the water pump at the same time. Also does anybody have a recommendation for a good mechanic in Montgomery County, Maryland or that general area? Thank you, Roadrunner

My bad, meant to say GuyTelefunken... 1000 apologies... got you mixed up with Turbo... both of you have been great in your responses ... Thanks again,

Thanks once again Turbo, you have been very helpful. The "roadrunner"

Thanks TurboGS300... Is it difficult to remove the speaker cover on the door panel... I haven't tried it yet, but I don't see it being an easy project unless it pops right off?

I thought it was from the cassette tapes, but now it's happening even when radio is on. I hear a sound that's hard to describe except it sounds electrical induced. It sounds like the speaker could be blown, but I doubt that because the previous owners took such good care of the car ('99 GS400). It only seems to be the right front speaker. Has anybody experienced this problem? And what would be the most cost effective option to get rid of it? Thanks

Just wanted to thank everyone for their input. The dealeship replaced the throttle body and the assembly that goes with it. I don't know anything about where it is located because I would like to see where it goes on the engine. I'll look at the engine tomorrow to see if I can determine anything. I have driven the car about 36 miles since the replacement and so far I have noticed the slight hesitation when it used to decellerate is gone and also no stalling at traffic lights (although that only happened twice before I took it back to the dealership). I guess the next thing I'll have to watch out for will be the timing belt, besides routine oil change. Thanks again, you guys are right on the money. :D :D Peace,

There was no noise, the motor just stopped running. I could start it without any problems, and continue. It only happened twice within one week so I didn't have a lot of experience with this. I was already stopped in both cases at a traffic light. So how was your problem resolved?

this is a common problem with the GS some have put their car in drive and adjusted the throttle cable others clean their TB some just reset the ECU ...just unplug the neg termnal for like 15 min. but thats very good that they are taking car e of it ← JP Agent, I see, but can you explain ECU and the throttle cable technique? Thanx,

Thank you TruboGS300, but forgive my ignorance, what do you mean by TPS or IAC?

Need your opinions: Just purchased 1999 GS400 with 60,000 miles about a week ago. Last week the car stalled at a traffic light ... didn't think much of it. Thought it might be a fluke. Then it happened again. Took car back to dlr cause still have about 500 miles left under warranty. Got a call from service tech... said it needed a throttle body or something like that. I never heard of that before, but it regulates gasoline flow? Any way my question is if this seems normal? By the way cost for the repair would be $1,150, but I reminded him car was still under warranty. So they will order part and put it in. I am wondering if they just grabbed at something because maybe they could not duplicate the engine stalling? Have you any experience with this type of problem? Please advise... appreciate it very much, Thanx :)

Just a question... was looking for a forum that was talking about engine problems in the the GS400 family but saw nothing. So let me ask this here. I just purchased a 1999 GS400 about a week ago ... Lexus certified. The car stalled on me at a traffic light... chucked it up to being a fluke. Then it happened a 2nd time, same situation, at a traffic light. Both times car immediatley turned over and started ok ... no further problems. But because it's still under warranty took it back to dlr. Service tech calls & says it needs a new "throttle body" or "throttle boost"... something like that. I cant remember now. But cost is $1,150. I told him it is still under warranty, so they are supposed to order part and put it in. Is this something any of you have experienced? Car has 60,000 miles on it. I wondering if they just grabbed at this as a replacement item. Hope some one out there can clue me in. Thanx,